Category: Government

Hawaii Bill calls for immediate smart meter moratorium

Hawaii SealWouldn’t it be fantastic if Hawaii could stop the smart meter deployment?

Hawaii state Representative Kaniela Ing has introduced a bill HR 146 “Expressing support for an immediate moratorium on the installation and promotion of smart meters until they are proven safe to public health and the environment, economy, and security of the state.”

Please support this effort by signing the Petition to Stop the “Smart Grid” in Hawaii until the safety of the technology involved can be proven:  http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-smart-grid-electro?source=c.fwd&r_by=3159788

And submit testimony in support of this bill here:  http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HR&billnumber=146&year=2014

Smart meter extortion in Illinois: pay $21.53 a month to delay the inevitable

extortionUtility customers in Illinois can delay smart meter installations on their home by paying $21.53 a month…but eventually everyone will be forced to have a smart meter, according to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).

Sky Vision Solutions reports the ICC has ordered ComEd to install new wireless smart meters for all customers over a ten-year period.  “If customers make the decision to refuse a [smart] meter now and incur monthly charges associated with this choice, it should be with full knowledge that this refusal is simply deferring the inevitable,” the ICC said in its order.  Beginning in 2022 the ICC has stated that customers will receive the smart meters regardless of whether they want them or not.

Read more here: http://smartgridawareness.org/2014/02/07/comed-smart-meter-opt-outs/#more-6031

Letter to SUSD

Schools in California and beyond are transitioning away from books to computer based learning. In many cases they’re using wireless computers (iPads) to teach at least two subjects, math and language arts. This is part of a new federal curriculum called Common Core.

In my comments to the Sebastopol Union School District I advocate for an alternative technology plan creating a hardwired computer lab for testing and test preparation.  Click here to view the original Letter to SUSD

In Sebastopol the school district is presenting their technology plan on Wednesday September 18 at 4:30 at  7611 Huntley Ave.

9/16/2013
To: Members of the School Board, staff, and teachers
Sebastopol Union School District
7611 Huntley Ave. Sebastopol CA. 95472

Re: Comments on Common Core Technology Plan

The Sebastopol Union School District (SUSD) board is considering adopting a technology plan that converts students from book based learning to computer based learning and testing. This will be presented on September 18 at the board meeting as agenda item 9.1,1, and possibly be adopted at the next board meeting in October. As a parent of a sixth grader at Brookhaven, and director of the EMF Safety Network, I ask SUSD to apply the precautionary principle and adopt an alternative plan that reduces and limits children’s screen time and wireless exposure.

An alternative plan is to create a hardwired computer lab, for testing and test preparation, instead of using computers in classrooms for lessons and testing. This request is based on health advocacy warnings and recommendations from the World Health Organization, American Academy of Pediatrics, Kaiser Permanente, American Academy of Environmental Medicine and other medical and science experts.

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey in 2010, children between the ages of 8-18 spend an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes on technology every day.2

  • How many more hours of screen time will children have if schools convert to computer based learning?
  • Will children also be expected to do their homework on computers?
  • Will the new technology and supporting infrastructure be wired or wireless?
  • Are parents adequately informed and included in the decision making process on whether or not to increase their children’s computer use?

Apply the Precautionary Principle to Ensure Safer Learning in Schools

The Precautionary Principle is based on ‘do no harm’ and ‘better safe than sorry’ philosophy. “When an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. 3

Kaiser Permanente recommends limiting screen time to less than 2 hours a day for teens, less than 1 hour a day for children ages 3 through 12, and no screen time for children under 3. 4 Kaiser explains: “Alot of kids spend more time in front of a screen than they do reading, talking with family and friends, or playing outside. It’s also affecting their health. Too much screen time is associated with: violent behavior, poor school performance, lower reading scores, sleep pattern disturbances, being overweight, consumption of junk food and bad habits later in life (like tobacco and alcohol abuse).”

The American Academy of Pediatrics states,“…studies consistently show that older children and adolescents utilize media at incredibly high rates, which potentially contributes to obesity and other health and developmental risks.”The Academy supports limiting screen time and media use for children and adolescents. 5

Wireless is a Health Risk and a Possible Carcinogen

In May 2011,the World Health Organization classified wireless radiation a possible carcinogen6. This classification is based on studies linking cell phone radiation to brain cancer, but it also applies to all wireless devices, including wi-fi routers and computers.

The American Academy of Environment Medicine (AAEM) in a letter7 to Los Angeles Unified School district (LAUSD) discusses why precaution for wireless is warranted and strongly recommends hardwiring computers in schools. AAEM writes, “There is consistent emerging science that shows people, especially children are affected by the increasing exposure to wireless radiation….Adverse health effects from wireless radio frequency fields, such as learning disabilities, altered immune responses, and headaches, clearly exist and are well documented in the scientific literature”.The AAEM states 3% of children and staff will be immediately affected 30% will have time-delayed reactions.

Apple provides warnings about health risks of iPads8 including headaches, blackouts, seizures, convulsion, eye or muscle twitching, loss of awareness, involuntary movement, or disorientation. There are consumer complaints about iPad health symptoms on the Apple support Forum.9“Is it just me or someone else also feels dizzy or nausea after using iPad for a while? 

“YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!! I’ve been getting it too…”

” I have the same problem you have… I looove the ipad but I don’t think I can keep it as I get nausea and feel a bit dizzy just using it for a few minutes.”

“… just today finished series of tests…echocardiogram, brainscan, ultrasound on carotid artery,..the works…to diagnose dizziness, and even one fainting episode..since Xmas. Guess what I got for Christmas…iPad…”

Federal Safety Guidelines Don’t Protect Children

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wireless guidelines are for short term (30 minutes) thermal exposures only. There are no safety guidelines specific to children. The FCC is currently reviewing their guidelines, based on a US Government Accountability Office request.10

Dr. Martha Herbert, a Harvard pediatric neurologist and neuroscientist writes,“Children are more vulnerable than adults, and children with chronic illnesses and/or neurodevelopmental disabilities are even more vulnerable… Current technologies were designed and promulgated without taking account of biological impacts other than thermal impacts. We now know that there are a large array of impacts that have nothing to do with the heating of tissue. The claim from wifi proponents that the only concern is thermal impacts is now definitively outdated scientifically.” 11

Dr. Ted Litovitz, physicist, stated many studies are showing biological effects below the FCC thermal limit, including psychological changes, stress response, DNA damage, and affects on the immune system, heart, and blood brain barrier. According to Dr. Litovitz biological effects are seen at 75,000 times below the FCC guideline!12

Create a Hardwired Computer Lab and Limit Screen Time

Faced with new testing standards and a new common core curriculum the schools are caught between new government mandates and health authorities safety recommendations. SUSD should not mandate computer based learning and computers in the classrooms. Instead, use the funding to create a hard wired computer lab, and limit children’s use to testing, and test preparation. Provide waivers for those parents, or students opposed, or medically unable to test on computers.

Some students will not feel well in a computer based environment and this will affect their ability to concentrate and learn. In Canada one family has sued the school district because the wi-fi in school makes both their children sick. With public schools throughout California and beyond transitioning to wireless computer based learning, this problem will only increase. What will SUSD do to keep more vulnerable children safe?

Furthermore, while you have the funding to upgrade technology, its a great opportunity to ensure all internet connections, including teachers and staff computers are hard wired for the safety of students, teachers and staff. Please keep the phone lines within the school wired and corded too!

Please feel free to contact me with your comments and or questions. I regret I will not be able to present this information in person on Wednesday.

Thank you for your consideration,

Sandi Maurer
EMF Safety Network
PO BOX 1016
Sebastopol, CA 95473 

“I have no doubt in my mind that at the present time, the greatest polluting element in the earth’s environment is the proliferation of electromagnetic fields. I consider that to be far greater on a global scale than warming, and the increase in chemical elements in the environment.’’- Dr Robert O. Becker, Author of Cross Currents and The Body Electric

Footnotes

1 http://webschoolpro.com/home/CA49709386052211/Agenda%20September%202013/CCSS%20Expenditure%20Plan%2013-14-1.pdf

2Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Oldshttp://kff.org/other/event/generation-m2-media-in-the-lives-of/

3 Science and Environmental Health Network FAQ http://www.sehn.org/ppfaqs.html

4 Kaiser Permanente: “Limit Screen Time for healthier Kids”

5 AAP letter to the Federal Communications Commission dated July 12, 2012 http://www.scribd.com/doc/104230961/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-letter-to-the-FCC

6Wireless devices-potential cancer risk says World Health Organization http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=4386

7 AAEM letter to LAUSD: http://aaemonline.org/images/LettertoLAUSD.pdf

12http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=11094

Additional Resources

The BioInitiative 2012 Report is an analysis by 29 independent scientists and health experts from around the world about possible risks from wireless technologies and electromagnetic fields. http://www.bioinitiative.org

Wi-fi in schools video: A ten minute introduction to wireless precaution in schools (Australia) http://youtu.be/GJPTzaNkcUk

Professor Olle Johansson Warns of Wireless DNA Damage to children / two minute video http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=9990

Is Wi-fi Safe? http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=10576 video

Excerpts from eight expert letters submitted to the LAUSD, by Joel Moskovitz, PhD, Director, Center for Family and Community Health,
School of Public Health, UC Berkeley: http://www.saferemr.com/2013_03_01_archive.html

‘Safe Schools 2012′. Medical and Scientific Experts Call for Safe Technologies in Schools. http://wifiinschools.org.uk/resources/safeschools2012.pdf

Scientific Panel on Electromagnetic Field Health Risks: The Selentun Statement

http://www.sagereports.com/smart-meter-rf/docs/Fragopoulou_et_al_2010b.pdf

EMF World Concerns Summary: A compilation of what government, public health and environment organizations and officials, independent scientists, health advocacy groups and activists are advocating around the world in response to the proliferation of EMF, and especially wireless radiation. http://emfsafetynetwork.org/?p=116

Wi-fi in Schools, a consumer advocacy website focused on wi-fi in schools: http://wifiinschools.com/

 

Are EMF concerns irrational? Dr. Ted Litovitz explains

Dr. Ted Litovitz, physicist, in his presentation to members of Congress in 2001 recognizes consumer EMF concerns and he asks his listeners, “Are they irrational?” “Can an electromagnetic field have any effect at all on your body?” “Are there health effects?”

He proceeds to explain the FCC guidelines are based on heating only, and states many papers are showing biological effects below the thermal limit, including psychological changes, stress response, DNA damage, and affects on the immune system, heart, and blood brain barrier.

According to Dr. Litovitz biological effects are seen at 75,000 times below the FCC guideline! Dr. Litovitz explains the evidence of non-thermal EMF biological effects based on scientific studies, including the role genetics play.


Video by The Council on Wireless Technology Impacts.

Smart Meter Film- Take Back Your Power- Watch NOW!

Take Back Your Power, Josh Del Sol’s full length documentary film on Smart Meters is now available to watch online (72 hr. rental) or purchase.

Take Back Your Power

Utility companies are replacing electricity, gas and water meters worldwide with new generation “smart” meters at an unprecedented rate. Take Back Your Power investigates the benefits and risks of this ubiquitous “smart” grid program, with insight from insiders, expert researchers, politicians, doctors, and concerned communities. Transparency advocate Josh del Sol takes us on a journey of revelation and discovery, as he questions corporations’ right to tap our private information and erode our rights in the name of “green”. What you discover will surprise you, unsettle you, and inspire you to challenge the status quo.

Reduce radiation risk from wi-fi, cell phones, and ipads

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) published  a Fact Sheet on how to reduce exposure to wireless radiation devices.

This video by Wifi in Schools Australia reviews ARPANSA’s advice, explains SAR values, tests iPads vs. iPhones, and tells how to reduce exposure from mobile and other wireless devices.

Canadian Health Authority warns about cell phone/ fertility risks

Screen shot 2013-08-01 at 7.31.12 AMThe BC Centre for Disease Control (BC CDC)  recommends that men keep cell phones out of their pants pocket and limit mobile phone use.  The report confirms that there is consistent evidence that exposure to testes is associated with reduced sperm count, motility, concentration and altered cell structure.

In its report, Radiofrequency Toolkit for Environmental Health Practitioners,  the BC CDC states that “the epidemiological studies of men assessed for infertility were consistent in demonstrating decreased sperm motility associated with increased use of mobile phones”.

In the need to understand how harm is caused by exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RF), the review panel noted that “oxidative stress seems one of the more plausible mechanisms of RF-induced sperm damage.”

While the BC CDC report downplays scientific connections between wireless and health, for example cell phones and head tumors, they do offer strategies for “minimizing personal exposure to RF”, including “replacing wireless RF devices, such as phones with hard wired”.

Radiation Research Trust launched a campaign to warn about cell phone fertility risks: Save the Male- Your Future is in Your Hands.  They write, “Research has shown a consistent link between mobile phone exposure and adverse health effects on male fertility and sperm viability.”

Smart Meter: heros and bullies in Oklahoma

Joe EspositoJoe Esposito lives in Tulsa County on the fence line next to the City of Owasso, Oklahoma, which was a pilot for the State of Oklahomaʼs Smart Meter program. Joe called the Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) and told them he did not want a Smart Meter. He came home one day from work and discovered that PSO had installed a Smart Meter on his home without his consent.

Joe and his wife watched Dr. Dietrich Klinghardtʼs video “Smart Meter and EMR: The Health Crisis Of Our Time”. After watching the video Joe took Dr. Klinghardtʼs advice and nailed a sheet of lead (30”x30”) between the smart meter and his house and later that night he woke up to discover the two major health problems he had been having were gone. He then built a faraday cage to sleep in which helped him even more.

Joe says, “The important issue to understand is that I did not need any pharmaceuticals, I just needed to get the radiation stopped.”

Joe then worked with Jerry Day, who helped him obtain an analog meter and legal paperwork. Then he talked with a licensed electrician who suggested he apply to the City of Tulsa for a permit to replace his Smart Meter with an analog meter, due to health problems. Joe did just that and the inspector came out said all was fine and he would call PSO to have them put their security lock on the new analog meter.

Within days he received an over-night letter from PSOʼs attorney saying put back the Smart Meter or we will cut your power off.  Joe refused and he and his wife were forced to live without power for over two months.

Joe’s attorney and PSO’s attorney finally worked out an agreement to place a ‘plug’ instead of a meter on his house and gave Joe two months to resolve this issue or PSO will cut his power off again.

While Joe was learning about radiation he purchased a GIGAHERTZ SOLUTIONS Meter HFE 35C, so he could read the amount of radiation from all these electrical devices. He found where his wife would lay her head on their bed his meter would peg.

Once the electrician put the analog meter on Joeʼs home, Joe believed all would be normal inside his home. But the reading at their bed stayed the same. So now they tried no meter on the home, no power to the home, and yet the reading was the same on their bed.

The next day he nailed aluminum window screen wire to the whole south side of his home, which helped lower the readings. What he learned was the hospital approximately 700 ft. to his south was pulsing radiation every 30 seconds, and a cell tower about a half mile to the south was transmitting constantly.

Joe says, “If a person breaks into my home to do harm, I can protect my family. What is the difference if microwave radiation is breaking into my home and doing harm to my family?”

Joe founded the website Stop Smart Meters in Oaklahoma. You can read more about his story in his own words here: Joe Esposito.

Recently Oklahoma TV news station ran a story on the health impacts of smart meters including Joe Esposito and Monique Smith who is suffering from headaches, dizziness and nosebleeds from the smart meter.  She has a note from her doctor saying it’s “medically necessary that the smart meter be removed from the home.”  Still their utility company refuses to remove it, forcing them out of their home.  Here’s the first of three excellent videos. The second and third can be watched here: http://kfor.com/2013/07/23/customers-says-oge-smart-meters-making-them-sick/